College Application Essay Tip #7: Follow Dr. Joseph’s Into, Through and Beyond Approach
See the article about Dr. Joseph and her advice about college essays in The New York Times. http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/09/23/nacac-essa/?pagemode=print
Tip 7. Follow Dr. Joseph’s Into, Through, and Beyond approach. Lead the reader INTO your story with a powerful beginning—a story, an experience. Take them THROUGH your story with the context and keys parts of your story. Make sure the reader understands your initiative, leadership, development, and continuity. End with the BEYOND message about how this story has affected who you are now and who you want to be in college and potentially after college. The beyond can be implied in many pieces that are so strong that moralizing at the end is not necessary.
It is not just the story that counts.
It’s the choice of qualities a student wants the college to know about herself